Forest Rendezvous
by Sephorium
Summary: When she went out into the forest that night, she obviously was completely out of her mind. She knew from the moment she read that note on her bedside table that it was a bad idea, and something made her drag herself away from her comfy bed in only a pair of short pajama pants and an oversized blue panda shirt and go to the forest anyway.


When she went out into the forest that night, she obviously was completely out of her mind. She knew from the moment she read that note on her bedside table that it was a bad idea, and something made her drag herself away from her comfy bed in only a pair of short pyjama pants and an oversized blue panda shirt and go to the forest anyway.

The sound of crushing leaves beneath her bare feet was the only sound in the night forest. Actually it was eerily quiet, not a chirp of a cricket, nor a hoot of an owl could be heard.

She wrapped an arm around her chest in a vain attempt to ward off the cold and kept her eyes firmly glued to the uneven forest floor. She had absolutely no idea why she was doing this, why even after she had firmly told herself it was an insane thing to do?

Who in their right mind would come home from an eighteen hour shift, take a shower, get changed into their pyjamas, read a note left on their bedside table that said 'Meet me at the Ryuu shrine tonight,' and actually GO?

She decided that she is most certainly bloody mad to do something like this, especially without a single weapon on her, clothed in barely anything and much less without a single reason to do so.

"I should go back, I should really _really_ go back," She mumbled to herself, raising her eyes from the ground to look at the endless expanse of trees before her.

"It isn't too late Sakura, you can still go back and climb into your soft warm bed," She continued, her feet still treading slowly forward, pace unchanging.

She narrowed her eyes, she had walked for the last fifteen minutes to get here, she wasn't going to just turn around and go back without finding out who managed to get through her flawless apartment defences without a single thing out of place.

Steeling her nerves, she quickened her pace, her waist-length pink curls swaying steadily behind her. She should have brought something with her, a kunai, a tanto, her Katana, _anything_ would have been better than what she had… Nothing.

She had to admit she was rather exhausted too with endless amounts of paperwork and reports she had filled out that day at the hospital as well as the multiple patients she had to patch up herself.

She paused as the shrine came into sight. It was nothing more than a boulder really, with a lantern hanging on either side and a deep carving of a dragon with outstretched wings on the front, the back being used as a surface for the plaque.

Leaning next to a lantern there was a silhouette of a man, his hands folded against a lean chest and head tilted slightly towards the ground.

She took a step back, her foot landing on a fallen branch and snapping it in two.

Then suddenly the figure turned his head towards her, silky dark hair shimmering in the moonlight.

She couldn't see much in the darkness, nor did she need to. She knew exactly who it was; she supposed she knew who it was before she even left her apartment.

Subconsciously she recognised that sinisterly sprawled hand writing, it had been the reason she had gone without understanding why.

His dark eyes caught the light for a second, further confirming her suspicions. He straightened up into a standing position and turned to face her.

She didn't need anymore persuasion, within seconds she had turned on her heels and was sprinting back in the direction she had come from, eyes wide and disbelieving and breaths ragged from the flu she had been developing.

It was ironic how the top medic in the entire world was suffering from the mere flu.

She had actually left work earlier than she had planned to because of a sneaking suspicion that she was developing a fever. She was planning to deal with the sickness properly after a good night's sleep and a nutritious breakfast.

'I shouldn't have come,' She mentally scolded herself when she heard the subtle signs of the man following her.

Pushing chakra into her feet she bounded forward, ignoring the strain she was putting on her fatigued body.

She actually couldn't recall the last time she had slept at home, even after her usual shifts; she would work overtime at the hospital, often passing out at her desk.

She had only gone home in the first place because she was feeling sick.

"Sakura," She heard a voice whisper into her ear, a pair of insanely strong arms wrapping in an iron tight grip around her torso.

Her eyes widened and she focused chakra into her elbow, fully planning to at least crack a few ribs, if not worse.

With the feeling of a sharp blade against her neck she stilled in his grip, her arm falling back to her side.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" She hissed, her bangs falling over her eyes.

"To talk of course," he replied before shoving her against a nearby tree and trapping both her dainty hands in one of his.

She gasped, her cheeks a deep red and a thin layer of sweat covering her body, her eyes half closed and breaths ragged.

She slumped forward dizzily, the world blurring out of focus.

"Sakura?" Sasuke whispered, using his free hand to tilt her face up to look at him, almost immediately pulling his hand away upon feeling the heat radiating from her cheeks.

Releasing her wrists he let her slump forward against his chest and wrapped an arm around her back and under her legs, lifting her easily off the ground.

Turning, he walked back in the direction of the Ryuu shrine, passing it after a few minutes and continuing on in a similar direction.

He supposed it was better this way; he didn't need to ask for her help.

Stopping in front of a small, genjutsu hidden cottage, he opened the door and stepped into the fire warmed living room.

He placed Sakura on the couch and walked into the bathroom, leaving with a bowl of icy water and a drenched facecloth.

Moving her bangs out of the way, he placed the cloth across her forehead and sat on the couch in front of her.

He hadn't seen her in five years and she was certainly a lot better looking than he remembered, other than the bags under her eyes from sleep deprivation.

If he had to describe her in one word it would have to be 'soft', from her full petal pink lips, heart shaped face down to her slender waist and milky white skin.

He looked down at his arm, the long gash scabbed over and torn in places from his earlier rough movements.

He would have gone to a normal doctor instead of reverting to his ex-teammate but it was no ordinary wound, the only thing the medics he'd seen could do was scab it over, but since then it had yet to heal at all.

He heard a soft whimper behind him and turned to see Sakura's eyes half open in alarm and attempt to sit up.

Using a large hand, he pushed her onto her back and repositioned the cloth on her forehead after soaking it in the bowl.

Sakura stared up at him in dazed confusion, quite sure that she was dreaming at this point.

Her eyes slowly started to droop closed, the urge to sleep overwhelming her need to survive.

"Sleep Sakura," He said stoically, climbing to his feet and walking into a bedroom that was not his own, the smells of the old couple that had previously lived here still emanating from the room.

He needed a place close to Konoha to stay for a while and the couple was close to death anyway, who could blame him for taking advantage of the situation.

Lying down on the double bed he rested his head on his hands and stared at the ceiling, a familiar smirk stretching across his face.

She would have to help him; after all she was now in his debt.

**Hope you enjoyed this, just felt like spontaneously writing something new. Please review and let me know if you liked the chapter and whether I should continue it. :) **

**Sasuke might seem a bit OOC but that will change, it was just necessary for the start. **


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